New Viper 70W

Just got my viper 70W today in the mail for under $80. I put it on my 12 gallon nano. It just seems that the tank has a yellowish green tint to it since I put it on that I did not have with the stock PC lights. Is this cause the bulb hasent burned in yet or that it just shows that my water is a little green that I couldnt see before. Thanks

 

What is the kelvin rating of this bulb?

 

Sorry guess that would have helped, its a 14K

 

Hmm. Well that is a strange tint for a 14k. My Iwasaki in that kelvin range was pretty blue.
Sometimes the stock bulbs they ship fixtures with are not that great. Do you know who makes the bulb?

 

are you running carbon?

 

yea I am running carbon but I have to replace the bag its almost a month old. Also the stock bulb is a JBJ came with the light.

 

What about the protective glass on the light. Does it look yellow or burnt in any way? The bulb may be running light blue but as it passes through the glass it changes the color. Try running the light over th tank without the glass and see if that helps/ makes a differance.

 

Don't HQI bulbs require the glass for UV protection?

 

do you have a skimmer?

 

Ok I gave this some more thought.

I had used two different light setups on my last aquarium over time.

The first was a 150w pendant that used the 50k (misnomer - really 14k) Iwasaki bulb found here:
http://www.eyelighting.com/ss/EQS-N-52-84-00032.pdf

I liked that bulb. HOwever I noticed that their 70 watt bulb is 10k. Knowing Iwasaki it is probably a bit yellowish - but I bet the par is high.

Then I switched to a light fixture that used a 70w HQI bulb (20k) and T-5 actinics. I believe the bulb was this one:
Catalina Aquarium 70W HQI 20K METAL HALIDE REEF GROW

I thought that was a pretty good bulb. Might be worth checking out for $30.